Old Nanuet Mall’s tax challenge goes before the court

With big fanfare, The Shops at Nanuet celebrated its grand opening earlier this month.

Although shoppers wouldn’t miss the mall’s old self, Nanuet Mall, the owner of the property doesn’t want to forget about it.

Monday was the first trial day for Nanuet Mall’s tax certiorari for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012.

According to the court document, the owner—listed as The Retail Property Trust, a subsidiary of Simon Property Group—wants to reduce assessments of the property by 67 percent for 2010, 70 percent for 2011 and 83 percent for 2012.

The property’s 2010 fair market value based on the town’s assessment was $37.3 million, while the owner’s appraiser claims that the value should’ve been $12.5 million.

The property’s 2011 fair market value based on the town’s assessment was $35.3 million, while the owner’s appraiser claims that the value should’ve been $10.6 million.

The property’s 2012 fair market value based on the town’s assessment was $19.4 million, while the owner’s appraiser claims that the value should’ve been $3.3 million.

Because the mall started demolishing the old buildings in 2012, the 2012 value is significantly lower than the prior two years.

Clarkstown Town Assessor Cathy Conklin said she considered this tax challenge nothing noteworthy because the mall’s value had been reduced over the years because of its declining status.

Needless to say, the challenge is nothing like Palisades Center’s successful tax certiorari, which cost the school district, town, county and other taxing districts a total of $20 million.

Akiko Matsuda has been a reporter with The Journal News since August 2005, covering the communities of North Rockland, including the towns of Haverstraw and Stony Point and the villages of Haverstraw, West Haverstraw and Pomona. Before that, she covered local governments in upstate New York and Connecticut. A Japanese native, she was a reporter and news anchor for a TV station in Sapporo, covering various beats, including courts, politics and the environment.